Major League superstar Ohtani Shohei (32, Los Angeles Dodgers) marked the new season's opening by giving generous gifts to every teammate.
On the 27th, according to reports by U.S. sports outlet ESPN and Dodgers-focused outlet DodgersNation, Ohtani gave gifts to teammates ahead of the 2026 Major League season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Before the game, Ohtani reportedly left a card in his teammates' lockers that read, "Let's make it three straight championships," along with a Seiko wristwatch. The watch is said to cost about $4,000 (about 6.03 million won).
Ohtani gave manager Dave Roberts a whiskey. Last year, Ohtani also gave Beats-brand headphones to the team.
Miguel Rojas of the Dodgers said, "Ohtani gave us a beautiful watch. I'll keep this watch for life," and added, "Ohtani is a great person off the field, too. He uses his influence for his teammates."
Ohtani and his family are known to maintain a frugal lifestyle despite high earnings. Ohtani is considered the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball.
According to Forbes, Ohtani earned $127 million (about 191.4 billion won) over the past year. Of that, his actual salary is around $2 million (about 3 billion won), but income outside his salary, including endorsements, is $125 million. In Dec. 2023, Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth aggregates $700 million (about 1 trillion won).
His wife, Tanaka Mamiko, also drew attention for her frugality. She was recently seen using a 49,900-won bag from the Spanish brand ZARA. At the car parade celebrating the Los Angeles Dodgers' achievement of back-to-back World Series titles, she was seen using an iPhone 13 mini, a model released in 2021, drawing public interest.